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On May 21, the CPSC in conjunction with Hewlett Packard announced a voluntary recall of the lithium-ion batteries used in Hewlett Packard and Compaq notebook computers. This recall of about 54,000 units is the second round of recalls on HP batteries used in the HP and Compaq computers. About 70,000 units were previously recalled in May, 2009. The lithium-ion batteries are under recall because they can overheat and cause a fire and burn hazard to consumers....

You know the old saying, “crime doesn’t pay,” but did you know that there could come a time when you get paid to not commit crime? A bill under consideration in Washington D.C. proposes to provide stipends to 50 people annually to learn life skills and avoid crime. The proposal is not the first of its kind. The D.C. proposal is modeled on an existent program and would create a new office to identify individuals “who pose a high risk of participating in or being a victim of violent criminal activity,” reports The New York Times....

The voices urging stronger restrictions or even an outright ban on the diet drug Meridia will have their hearing this week before an FDA advisory panel. The FDA panel will review a study that found an increased risk of heart problems for those patients taking the diet drug. The study also showed an average weight loss of 8.8 lbs (4 kilograms). The FDA has the final decision-making authority, but often follows the panel’s advice....

Although a person’s home is their castle, videotaping what goes on inside can come at a hefty price. An Iowa man discovered this after he secretly taped his own wife in their house, and following their divorce, was slapped with a $22,500 award against him for invasion of her privacy. This comes on the heels of a story last week about a Nebraska man who sued his ex-wife and former father-in-law accusing them of spying on him by hiding an audio recording device inside his daughter’s teddy bear....

When a jury is asked to deliberate after hearing the evidence at a trial, they are instructed to apply the facts to the law in order to reach their decision. Judges actually provide juries with written instructions on the legal claims, which usually provide step-by-step explanations on how to apply the case facts to the law. However, on rare occasion, a jury will disregard the law, disregard the instructions, and reach a decision that is at odds with the evidence....

Lauryn Hill was released from prison after serving a three-month sentence for tax evasion. On the eve of her release, she released a new song, “Consumerism.” The celebrity status of Hill’s prison stint is actually pretty meta. As it turns out, the prison where Hill – Inmate #64600-050 – served time is the same prison in which “Orange Is the New Black” takes place. Now that she’s free to make a foray back into our “consumerist” society, what’s in store for the ex-Fugees singer?...

If you’re a marijuana smoking Massachusetts resident, here’s some potentially good news: The Supreme Judicial Court has decided that the smell of marijuana alone is no longer sufficient reasonable suspicion for law enforcement to order you out of a vehicle. The rest of you? Well, you’re probably out of luck. The case, Commonwealth v. Cruz, stems from an incident during which police, after questioning, ordered a man out of his vehicle based solely on the fact that the distinct odor of marijuana was present....

May 1 was designated “Law Day” in the U.S. by Congress in 1961, to “strengthen our great heritage of liberty, justice, and equality under law,” according to the Library of Congress. The theme for Law Day 2007 is Liberty Under Law: Empowering Youth, Assuring Democracy. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), which offers a number of Law Day participation and classroom ideas, “Law Day programs are designed to help people understand how law keeps us free and how our legal system strives to achieve justice,” and this year’s theme “prompts us to listen to the voices of young people and consider how the law can better serve their needs and interests....

Brandon McQueen and Matthew Taylor, owners of Compassionate Apothecary, a dispensary in Mount Pleasant, were on the losing end of a state appellate court ruling on Tuesday, which found that Michigan’s medical marijuana law does not permit the sale of pot between patients. As such, the dispensary was found to be in violation of the state’s public health code and marijuana drug laws, allowing officials to shut it down as a public nuisance....

A single mom from Philadelphia is facing serious prison time for volunteering to a New Jersey officer at a traffic stop that she had a licensed handgun in her car. Unfortunately for Shaneen Allen, 27, her Pennsylvania concealed carry permit isn’t recognized in New Jersey, and she was arrested and charged with “unlawful possession of a weapon and armor penetrating bullets,” reports Philadelphia’s WCAU-TV. The incident occurred last October, but Allen has a court date set for August 5....

In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences released a report concluding that almost all commonly used forensic techniques, including handwriting analysis, have never been properly scientifically tested. And yet, the State of New Hampshire was requiring untrained local election moderators review and compare handwritten signatures on absentee ballots, and reject ballots with questionable signatures. That practice will now be ended, after a federal court ruled the procedure unconstitutional. The court found “the current process for rejecting voters due to a signature mismatch fails to guarantee basic fairness,” and you can see the full ruling below:...

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has pleaded guilty to two criminal charges as part of a plea deal that includes his cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Manafort admitted to conspiring to defraud the United States and conspiring to obstruct justice, and could be facing up to 10 years in prison. What Manafort may tell Mueller and his team as part of the plea deal remains unclear, but you can see the plea, along with an extensive description of Manafort’s crimes, below....

It is summertime but the livin’ is not necessarily easy for police. In fact, the summer months can be particularly tough for cops because more people are out on the streets, kids are out of school, and everyone’s just hanging around waiting for something to happen. This summer, there are some law enforcement agencies who are enlisting the assistance of mobile electronic surveillance units that will allow them to keep an eye on everyone, even when officers are not around....

If you or a loved one takes Sun Pharmaceuticals’ generic brand of Wellbutrin, the well known antidepressant drug, be advised that the manufacturer has issued a recall ahead of the FDA. Over 30,000 bottles of the generic medication are being recalled due to problems with the dissolution specifications, or how quickly the drug dissolves. The medication being recalled is sold under the generic name of bupropion hydrochloride extended-release. The recall only applies to the 150mg tablets that were produced in the company’s manufacturing facility in Halol, India....

Maybe Sean Paul should have been nicer to his ex, because now he’s being sued to the tune of $80 million. The famous Jamaican dancehall and reggae artist allegedly had a love affair with Susanne Persson in 2010, but their relationship ended poorly. Persson is making all kinds of claims against Paul in a lawsuit filed just after the New Year. A breakup generally isn’t grounds for a lawsuit, but Persson is claiming Paul abused her physically and emotionally and had her illegally deported....

A South Carolina woman has been diagnosed with a case of necrotizing fasciitis – just weeks after Georgia college student Aimee Copeland began her battle with the flesh-eating bacteria. Lana Kuykendall is currently hospitalized in Greenville and appears to be in relatively stable condition. The 36-year-old contracted the bacteria just days after giving birth to twins. Her delivery was relatively normal, according to CBS News. However, the day after, she felt pain in her leg and was unable to move....

In response to the news that both Apple and Google were recording the locations of smart phone users, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and Law held a hearing last week to consider the privacy implications of cell phone tracking. Executives from both companies answered questions, explaining how their mobile software collects and uses location data, reports PC Magazine. They also discussed some of the phone settings that users can activate to protect their data....

More than 60 New Jersey high-school seniors were arrested early Thursday after allegedly trashing their school as part of a senior class prank. Law enforcement responded to a burglary alarm at Teaneck High School about 2:30 a.m., finding greased doorknobs, urine-soaked hallways, and flipped desks. Although some students may have escaped police capture, 62 students were arrested, reports New York City’s WNBC-TV. What legal trouble could be in store for these high school pranksters?...

You probably don’t know this guy by name but he is suing for defamation, saying his good name is being slammed. The former manager of rap group NWA, Jerry Heller, is suing the producers of the film Straight Outta Compton for their portrayal of him. Heller denies much of what happened in the movie and says that the screenplay is based on work he wrote years earlier. He alleges that filmmakers failed to seek his consent for use of his work and image, didn’t compensate him, and tarnished his reputation....

Legally speaking, this year is most likely to be remembered for the recognition of same-sex marriage in the summer of 2015. But there were other big cases, and even some small ones that could mean big things to many people, that are also worth review. The Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges recognized the fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry under two clauses in the Constitution, the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause....